Our hols this year have mostly involved sleeping in a tent, so reliable, comfortable sleeping gear is essential to a happy trip.

In the wee small hours this past weekend, I found myself sinking toward the chilly ground, not a pleasant sensation at an elevation of 7,200 with the wind gusting vigorously around the tent. The cause was a missing rubber valve allowing a tiny amount of air to escape from my air bed.

In fairness we have had this mattress a good few years, in fact I bought it when pregnant with #2 child (it was the only way I could sleep with the bump), she turns 6 in October, it has lasted us well.

Sigh – maybe it’s time to replace it, but I hate to throw out a whole queen size bed air bed for lack of a small piece of rubber. I hunted about on ebay for replacement bits, then thought I’d try the crazy notion of attempting to contact customer service.

I chose IM and connected to a customer service rep almost immediately. She was not only pleasant and helpful, but also remembered me when I messaged again after getting disconnected!

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About sunnysleevez

I'm a freckly red head, originally from London now living in LA with 2 pale children. Frankly with our coloring we have no business being such an outdoorsy family and living in southern California.
I grew up in a time when factor 8 sun milk was considered the best protection available to combat the hot rays of a holiday in southern Spain, that lead to 3rd degree burns and the rest of the vacation spent in the shade of our apartment.
As a family we love to be outside, going to the beach, camping, swimming & hiking. We can't completely avoid the sun (nor should we) but taking sensible measures to avoid unnecessary UV damage is a priority.
How do we do that? By staying in the shade in the middle of the day, wearing sun protective clothing (that's why I created Sunny Sleevez), a broad brimmed hat, UV rated sunglasses, using chemical-free broad spectrum sun screen on exposed areas & eating a healthy diet with as few chemicals as possible & lots of antioxidants.

30 Responses to Coleman Camping Gear – shocking customer service

The difference between the customer service organizations of various companies is amazing. Some of them just know what to do and others – – – well – – – I will be charitable and say; not so much. (stage whisper – – – “I COULD KILL THEM!”

LOVE customer service like this! So simple and yet so impressive. Thanks for spreading the news.
It’s times like these that I ask for the employee’s info and ask to talk to their manager. After 15 years of retail I know how important it is to give compliments. Sometimes it can feel like it’s all complaints.
Great post!

I don’t camp so it’s unlikely I would need this, but I would suggest rethinking the headline. If I hadn’t read the whole piece (I’m compulsive about that), the headline with the word “shocking” might have made me think the service was terrible. Not everybody reads past the headline.

i know, it seems a bit misleading as a title but I’m so used to getting barely adequate customer service that when a company goes above and beyond was truly ‘shocked’ I thought they’d at add an outrageous shipping charge or something, but no just real, proper, good service 😀

So great to hear! We’ve relied on Coleman camping gear for years–especially our stove and lantern–and I’ve always found their stuff reliable and easy to use. Nice that their customer support is just as reliable and pleasant!

Really? Cause my Colman tent rainflap has two broken poles. They both broke at the same spot the first and second time I put up the tent. Maybe I should contact Coleman and see if I can get replacements. WOuldn’t even mind paying.

“In the wee small hours this past weekend, I found myself sinking toward the chilly ground, not a pleasant sensation at an elevation of 7,200 with the wind gusting vigorously around the tent.” — Great line.

Wow, impressive! And as an avid camper, this could very well tip the scales in Coleman’s favor the next I’m out looking for gear.
Funny though, when I read your title, I was expecting “shocking” customer service to be shockingly bad, not good ! 🙂

Hello,
I am not sure if this is just a Canadian company but Breville has amazing customer service! We bought an espresso machine for 70% off because it was missing some things like a one shot espresso filter (still totally functioning) so I thought I would see how much it was to replace the three things we didn’t get. Turns out they sent them to us for free and even included some extra espresso cups as a ‘sorry’ thing. I was even up front about buying it for less, and they were still helpful!
Cavallini Paper and co is also an amazing company. I had bought their tape rolls and the package said it should have been the ‘Paris” themed set, turned out to be numbers in the tin. The store wouldn’t return them, and looked at me like I was crazy, so I thought what the heck, I will email the company. They sent me the new tape as well as a magnet set, stamp set, notebook and note cards in the Paris series with a handwritten apology letter! As a stationary fanatic I was completely taken aback and oh so grateful! How amazing is that?
Just thought I would let you know about two companies that really stood out to me for having stellar customer service!
I hope this note finds you well and happy!
Best,
– S.
P.S. Thanks for subscribing and directing me to you really cool product line. Whenever I get back on my feet and outside again, I will totally be looking you up again! I am fair with a fair amount of freckles and tend to burn or be totally white, no tans for me! 😛

Coleman is amazing. I had a similar experience regarding a replacement part for an old Colemen stove. it was from the 1970’s. They were surprised we were still using it but were going to fix it. Our friends had just given us their “old one.”. We said THANKS and finally put the 50 year old one to rest.

I also had a great experience with Coleman. Last year our double burner Coleman stove started leaking and burning the table. I was getting ready to replace it when someone suggested I contact the company. I spoke with a nice customer service rep who informed me that if I sent mine back they would gladly replace it. I paid about $7.00 to send in the defective stove and within a couple of weeks received a new current model stove at NO COST. BTW did I mention mine was about 7 years old? I love Coleman and am a customer for life….:)

I LOVE getting great customer service like that! Energizer (who also makes various playtex products like the baby bottles etc) has SUPER AWESOME customer service. My dog had chewed a bunch of the bottle rings that aren’t avaible for individual sale and they sent replacements ones for free and then when I couldn’t find a replacement piece for something else and they could no longer ship to Canada (the replacement pieces), they sent me a bunch a coupons so that I could buy brand new bottles! Makes you feel so good and valued!

Great to hear about Good Customer Service from Coleman. I love their products, and own a Chalet V9 tent, amongst other things. Even growing up I remember a lot of the camping kit being Coleman. It just makes you want to ensure the next one is another Coleman. Good customer service costs so little, but reaps so much. Businesses like Telstra (Australia) should heed this advice.

MSR sent me new free plastic/rubber straps for my 15+ year old snowshoes and paid the postage! I called MSR, the manufacturer, when I couldn’t find a retailer. I had tried six and they were either sold out, didn’t stock parts, or would not ship to Canada. Last winter we needed the snowshoes to get to the front of our house after exiting the door with the least snow at the back!